Jail for dozy burglar who fell asleep on house raid

A BURGLAR who was caught after falling asleep in bed during a during a raid on a house has been jailed.
Crown CourtCrown Court
Crown Court

Police had to wake up Frankie Flannigan after they found him fast asleep when they were called to the house by the shocked homeowner who discovered him when she returned home.

Flannigan, 22, was jailed for 18 months yesterday after pleading guilty to burgling the house in Chandos Avenue, Gledhow, Leeds, on September 22 last year.

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Leeds Crown Court heard Flannigan’s victim lives next door to his mother.

On the day of the offence, Flannigan turned up drunk at his mother’s house and she told him to go away.

Flannigan then went to his grandmother’s house but she also told him to leave because of his drunken state.

Carmel Pearson, prosecuting, said Flannigan then smashed a window before searching the property next door to his mother’s and stealing electrical items including a TV, laptop and an Xbox.

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Flannigan took the items from the property and left them next to a bin outside his mother’s home before going back into the house next door.

Miss Pearson said the victim returned home at around 5.45pm to find glass all over the house and property missing.

She contacted police and they arrived to find Flannigan asleep in an upstairs bedroom.

He was arrested and pleaded guilty to the offence at the earliest opportunity.

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The court heard Flannigan has a number of previous conviction for minor dishonesty offences but had never committed burglary before the incident.

Asumpta O’Rourke, mitigating, said Flannigan had not deliberately targeted the property but broke in after he saw no one was at home.

Miss O’Rourke said her client’s offending was linked to his abuse of alcohol.

The lawyer said Flannigan had been drinking on a daily basis since he was 15, often starting at 11am each day.

Judge Rodney Jameson, QC, said: “This was a repeated and serious intrusion into the property.

He added: “An immediate custodial sentence is not only merited - it is the best thing for you.”